Factors affecting recent spatial changes of the color-TV industry in China
我国彩电制造业空间变化的影响因素

Industrial location is a result of the interactions between economic, social and physical factors. Since the 1990s, factors affecting industrial spatial distribution in China have changed a lot, that is, the role of traditional factors like natural resources and transportation is decreasing while that of a number of new factors is increasing, such as inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), agglomeration economy and development of innovation networks. As such, manufacturing activities have experienced turbulent spatial changes in recent years. The color-TV industry, as a major contributor to employment, productivity and output growth in the Chinese electronics industry, is a typical sector with rapid spatial changes in the last two decades. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the factors affecting recent spatial changes of the color-TV industry in China, and to identify its changing dynamics at different stages. Following a brief review on industrial location theory, this paper first summarizes the changing characteristics of the spatial distribution of China's color-TV industry from 1971 to 2005, by using the index of concentration. Then it analyzes major factors affecting the spatial distribution of the industry in three different development stages identified in the first step. The paper finds that, in recent transition from the central planning economy to a market economy and from a closed economy to one integrated more and more into the global economy, major factors affecting the industry's location have changed from government policy and intervention to corporate strategies to cope with intensified market competition and to inflow of foreign direct investment. China has a diverse, complex and rapidly changing economy. The paper offers a case study to understanding recent spatial changes of manufacturing activities in China, which is an area worthy of further study in the China's context.